How our mental health support is changing lives in the pandemic

The Covid-19 crisis has had a huge impact on the women and girls we support - not only causing a sharp spike in violence due to lockdowns, gender-based violence and economic hardship, but also a massive rise in mental health problems.

In fact, in a Covid-19 Needs and Assessment report we conducted in May 2020 with more than 300 people, 86% of female respondents said they had experienced increased mental health difficulties during the pandemic. It therefore came as no surprise to us when 80% of these women said access to a professional counsellor would be helpful to their overall wellbeing.

As a result, mental health support has become one of our biggest priorities at the Lotus Flower, and our trained psychologists have been working hard to provide therapy in a safe environment since the pandemic began nearly 18 months ago.

Delivered in Covid-safe sessions one-to-one, within groups, or even on the phone, the aim of the therapy is always to make women and girls feel secure, valued and able to trust our staff 100%. Those who have received this support in recent months tell us it has been incredibly beneficial to their wellbeing.

For instance, there’s 18-year-old Nazdar, who lives with her family in the Essyan camp. Ill-health means she and her loved ones are unable to work, and when Covid-19 broke out, she was struck by intense anxiety and psychological stress. “Covid-19 impacted us a lot,” Nazdar says. “Trying to survive in camp and seeing death in front of our eyes became all I could think about. As I can’t take care of my parents, I felt very guilty.”

Nazdar was put in touch with the Lotus Flower through a community mobiliser, and began counselling sessions with a psychologist. “I never thought that speaking to someone would help, but it has really made me feel better. I also like visiting the centre to meet other women and girls, as talking to them helps too.”

Another who has benefitted from this support is 16-year-old Shaliza at Rwanga camp. Her mental health issues developed after the ISIS attacks of 2014, when she was still a young girl. She lost many friends and relatives during the conflict, and says: “I was always angry and unhappy after that. The situation impacted on me at school too and I was never able to speak in class or answer any of the teacher’s questions, so I stopped going.”

After coming to one of the Lotus Flower centres, she began receiving counselling, and within two months saw huge improvements in her mental health. “It has helped me overcome my psychological problems, and I feel much better now. The way I treat my siblings has positively improved too.”

There are hundreds more women and girls like Nazdar and Shaliza who have received therapy from the Lotus Flower – but the true scale of need for mental health support means we simply cannot meet demand as it stands. If you can do anything to help us, please get in touch, or donate on the button below. This work is so very important, and it genuinely has the power to change lives…